Morning sunlight streamed into the cottage, warm and gentle—exactly unlike the emotional state of the father standing over the crib holding a wooden baby rattle like it was a grenade.
"Dear… he's awake," the father whispered.
His wife peeked over his shoulder, hands clasped together in pure joy.
"Ohhh look at him! He's trying to reach for the mobile!"
Their baby was indeed making an attempt.
Lee Min lay on his back, staring at the spinning wooden animals above him. He slowly raised both arms, fingers twitching like a wizard trying to summon an ancient curse. But to his utter humiliation, his hands wobbled, drifted sideways, and ended up poking his own eye.
"BWAAH!" he cried.
Which the mother interpreted as adorable.
"Aww! He's so expressive!"
The father's eyebrow twitched.
"I think he just punched himself."
SYSTEM: BABY TUTORIAL CONTINUES
A soft ping echoed in his mind:
[Tutorial Step 3: Reach for an Object!]
Goal: Touch the wooden duck on the mobile.
Reward: +1 DEX
Penalty for Failure: None (except shame)
Lee glared at the System.
Oh, sure. Like I have control over these spaghetti limbs.
He tried again.
And again.
His arm jerked upward…
jerked sideways…
jerked behind his head…
and somehow smacked the crib railing.
He succeeded in touching EVERYTHING except the target.
Finally, by accident, his finger grazed the wooden duck.
[Success!]
[DEX +1]
He hadn't even meant to hit it.
AND THEN THE MOBILE STARTED SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL
His accidental victory triggered a tiny spark of mana. That spark jumped to the mobile's wooden animals.
It began to spin faster.
And faster.
And MUCH faster.
Until it was humming like a helicopter about to take off.
The father screamed, "THE BABY IS CASTING A SPELL AGAIN!"
The mother gasped.
"No, no—he's just excited!"
The mobile detached from its string and shot across the room like a spinning buzz saw.
It embedded into the wall with a loud THUNK.
The father dropped his rattle and dove behind the bed in terror.
Lee stared at the wall, horrified.
The System beeped smugly:
[Warning: Minor Mana Leak Detected]
[Host emotionally unstable]
[Try not to panic while performing simple tasks]
I AM A BABY, SYSTEM.
**CRAWLING ATTEMPT #1: "THE NOODLE WIGGLE"**
Later that day, his mother placed him on a soft blanket and encouraged him gently:
"Come on, sweetie… try to crawl."
His father stood a safe distance away behind a wooden chair, ready to use it as a shield.
Lee glared at them both.
This was humiliating.
He steeled himself and initiated the task.
[Tutorial Step 4: Crawl Forward!]
Reward: +1 STR, +1 AGI
Tip: Try not to explode.
He pushed with his arms.
His legs kicked.
His body wriggled like a worm having an existential crisis.
And he moved…
…exactly one inch.
The effort exhausted him instantly.
He lay there panting like he'd just run a marathon.
His mother clapped proudly.
"You moved!"
His father squinted.
"It looked like he had a seizure."
Another System box appeared:
[Effort Detected!]
[STR +0.5]
[AGI +0.5]
Lee wanted to cry.
**CRAWLING ATTEMPT #2: THE ACCIDENTAL HYPERDASH**
He tried again.
This time, he concentrated all his magical and physical energy into one decisive push.
Bad idea.
His mana surged—only 1% of it.
But that was enough to create a localized spatial distortion.
He didn't crawl.
He disappeared.
A small puff of air burst where he had been lying.
His mother blinked.
"Where—?"
Then she spotted him three feet away on the opposite side of the blanket, face-down, bottom in the air like a collapsed tent.
"Oh my goodness! He crawled so fast I didn't even see it!"
His father's soul left his body.
"That… THAT WASN'T CRAWLING! He TELEPORTED!"
Lee groaned into the blanket.
The System chimed:
[Accidental Spell Activation: Spatial Skip]
You have moved 3 ft instantly.
Please stop doing that.
I CAN'T EVEN CONTROL MY OWN ELBOWS, SYSTEM.
**THE PANTRY INCIDENT (Vending Machine Trauma Trigger)**
Once Lee recovered from breaking physics, his mother picked him up and went to the kitchen.
She hummed while preparing a bottle, swaying with him lovingly.
Lee relaxed in her arms… until he noticed it.
The pantry.
A tall wooden cabinet.
Box-shaped.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Just like the vending mac—
His entire baby soul recoiled.
His breathing hitched.
His tiny hands clutched his mother's shirt.
His eyes bulged in primal terror.
She mistook it as hunger.
"Oh sweetheart, you're eager!"
His father peeked into the kitchen.
"Is he crying?"
"Not yet," she said brightly. "He's just excited."
Lee could not be more un-excited.
The pantry door creaked open on its own.
Lee SHRIEKED.
A burst of mana blasted from his body, slamming the pantry door shut so hard the entire cabinet shook.
His father yelped and ducked.
His mother smiled calmly.
"He's so animated!"
The System beeped:
[Trauma Triggered: Vending-Machine-Type Object Detected]
[Host reaction: Extreme panic]
[Damage inflicted: Pantry Door (2 HP)]
Lee whimpered internally:
Why was that so scary? I hope I grow out of that.
**END-OF-DAY STATUS (SYSTEM SUMMARY)**
As night fell, Lee drifted off to sleep while the System helpfully displayed his progress:
[DAY SUMMARY]
You have:
• Reached for an object
• Accidentally spun a mobile into a wall
• Crawled via spatial displacement
• Terrified your father 5 times
• Slightly damaged the pantry
Stats Gained:
STR +0.5
AGI +0.5
DEX +1
VIT +1
New Passive Skill:
"Spatial Skip (Uncontrolled)"
Effect: Teleports short distances when panicking.
Congratulations!
You are still a disaster.
Lee mentally kicked the System screen as it faded.
He closed his eyes, exhausted.
Tomorrow, he would try walking.
God help them all.